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Hey Friend, Thank you for continuing to open my emails. I take your time and trust seriously, and I hope you know how much I value every human on my list. Even if we've never met, I appreciate you and hope you get value from hearing from me every week! If you've been here for a while, you know that feedback is one of my favorite topics. Giving feedback. Receiving feedback. Managing big emotions before, during, and after feedback. Building cultures of feedback. Everything about feedback gets me jazzed up, especially since only 6% of managers report feeling confident giving feedback or addressing performance challenges. WHAT?! The truth is, we are so often thrown into management roles and told to figure it out. The result is that most feedback conversations are either avoided entirely, delivered so gently and "empathetically" they don't land, or so bluntly they damage the relationship. And then we wonder why our teams aren't growing the way we hoped. Here's what I know after twenty years of doing this work: feedback is a skill. And like every skill, it can be learned, practiced, and refined, with the right conditions and the right support. A few things worth remembering before your next feedback conversation: Feedback lands in direct proportion to the trust, psychological safety, and relationships you already have. If you don't know people well or people consider you or the environment untrustworthy, even the most skillfully delivered feedback will feel like an attack. Investing in relationships at all times is a strategic investment we must make to create the conditions we need to give feedback effectively AND for it to be well-received.. Timing and context matter as much as content. The right words at the wrong moment, in the wrong setting, or without the right emotional conditions can undermine even the most well-intentioned conversation. Receiving feedback is its own skill, and most professionals are terrible at it. If you want a culture where people give feedback freely, you have to model what it looks like to receive it without shutting down, getting defensive, or making the other person regret saying anything. And we have to build the muscle of receiving feedback with everyone on the team as vigorously as we train for giving it. The goal isn't a perfect conversation, but a culture where feedback exchanges are safe and normalized. That takes repetition, practice, and lots of consistency. I teach this stuff, and I'm still learning!! If any of this is landing as important in your context and you're finding yourself befuddled at how to give effective feedback to your direct reports, supervisor, peers, stakeholders, clients, and honestly even your husband/wife/partner/children, you're invited to our public virtual Feedback Lab on August 10! This is a full-day virtual intensive where you'll learn about:
By the end of this one-day experience, you will be able to:
The Feedback Lab is the fastest way I know to build this important skill, and I promise you'll walk away feeling more prepared, supported, and ready! Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/feedback-lab-aug26 With love, PS - We regularly facilitate the Feedback Lab internally with teams, both virtually and in-person! Interested in a more personalized experience? Learn more here, and please reach out if you want to explore options! |
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